Control structure for automatically opened and closed umbrella

ABSTRACT

An improved control structure for automatically opened and closed umbrella is provided. The control structure contains a one-way wheel linked to a string of a bullet head or an upper nest, and further contains a locking arm and a positioning arm. When the umbrella is compressed, a vertical section of the locking arm moves towards and presses against the one-way wheel&#39;s ratchets. As such, if the umbrella is accidentally released during its closing operation, the one-way wheel is locked by the locking arm and the bullet head is therefore locked as well. The compressed shaft is then immediately positioned without being affected by the suddenly released opening spring. The umbrella is therefore much safer to operate.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a control structure for anautomatically opened and closed umbrella, and more particularly to sucha control structure where a one-way wheel is employed to protect thesafety of an operator by preventing the umbrella from sudden openingduring the closing operation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

A conventional control structure for an automatically opened and closedumbrella is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. As illustrated, the control structureis installed in a handle 20 of the umbrella and mainly contains a hollowmain body 10 with a control ring 11 inside. The control ring 11 has acontrol rod 12 configured to a side under the control ring 11. A pushbutton 13 is configured on the same side of the main body 10 and isexposed out of the handle 20 to control the operation of a shaft 30.

As shown in FIG. 1, a small spring 111 is configured to a side of thecontrol ring 11 opposite to the control rod 12. The small spring 111presses the control ring 11 towards the push button 13. Inside thecontrol ring 11, a block 112 is configured adjacent to the small spring111 to engage a sliding tube 40 so that the umbrella is fixed atspecific configurations. In addition, the control rod 12 is joined tothe control ring 11 by a pin 121 and a coil spring 122 maintains thecontrol rod 12 in a lateral state. When the umbrella is closed, thesliding tube 40 is locked by the block 112 of the control ring 11. Inthe mean time, the control rod 12 is slanted downward by a second tube32 of the shaft 30 and, together with a bullet head 50 connected to thesliding tube 40, is locked in a hole on a first tube 31 of the shaft 30.As further shown in FIG. 2, when the push button 13 is pressed, thecontrol ring 11 is pushed inward so that the block 112 releases thesliding tube 40. By the driving of an opening spring 60 inside the shaft30, the umbrella is opened. The control rod 12 returns to the lateralstate and presses against the bullet head 50. To close the umbrella, thepush button 13 is pressed again and the control rod 12 pushes the bullethead 50 so that the bullet head 50 escapes the locking by the first tube31. Then, under the driving of the closing springs of the ribs 70, theribs 70, together with the attached fabric, are collapsed and the shaft30 is moved downward by an operator towards the handle 20. The umbrellais thereby closed as shown in FIG. 1.

A substantial problem with the conventional umbrella is that, when theumbrella is closed as described above, the opening spring 60 inside theshaft 30 has to be compressed with significant force. If the operator isnot careful, the compressed opening spring 60 may abruptly expand tothrust the shaft 30, causing damage to the operator's hand or other bodyparts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an improved control structure for automatically opened andclosed umbrella is provided herein. The gist of the present inventionlies in the adoption of a one-way wheel linked to a string of the bullethead. When an operator mistakenly releases the shaft during theumbrella's closing operation, the one-way wheel is locked and thereforethe linked bullet head does not shift either. The shaft is therebypositioned and does not thrust by the expansion of the opening spring.An umbrella according to the present invention is therefore much saferto operate.

The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introductionto the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects ofthe present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detaileddescription of the invention and the claims should be read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specificationand drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similarparts.

Many other advantages and features of the present invention will becomemanifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to thedetailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which apreferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of thepresent invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 to 3 are sectional diagrams showing the various configurationsof a conventional control structure when the umbrella is collapsed, whenit is opened, and when it is closed again.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective diagrams showing the various components ofa control structure according to an embodiment of the present inventionbefore and after they are assembled.

FIG. 6 is a sectional diagram showing the control structure of FIGS. 4and 5 when the umbrella is closed.

FIG. 7 is a sectional diagram showing the control structure of FIGS. 4and 5 when the umbrella is opened.

FIG. 8 is a sectional diagram showing the control structure of FIGS. 4and 5 when the umbrella is closed again.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are sectional diagrams showing the control structure ofFIGS. 4 and 5 in a scenario of closing the umbrella.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are perspective and sectional diagrams showing a controlstructure according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are notintended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of theinvention in any way. Rather, the following description provides aconvenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of theinvention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made inthe function and arrangement of the elements described without departingfrom the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a control structure for an automaticallyopened and closed umbrella according an embodiment of the presentinvention is installed in a handle 20 of the umbrella and mainlycontains a main body 10 whose upper and lower halves are hollow. Acontrol ring 11 having a control rod 12 is installed in the upper hollowspace. The control rod 12 is configured to a side and below the controlring 11. A push button 13 is configured to the same side of the controlring 11. On the other hand, a block 112 is configured inside the controlring 11 at the side opposite to the control rod 12. A small spring 111outside the control ring 11 adjacent to the block 112 pushes the controlring 11 towards the push button 13. In the lower hollow space of themain body 10, a one-way wheel 14 is installed and pivots around an axle141 running perpendicular to the main body 10. Ratchets 142 are providedon a left half of a circumferential surface of the one-way wheel 14. Ona right half of the circumferential surface, a wire groove 143 isprovided to receive a lower string 81 from a bullet head 50. A circularindentation 144 is provided on a left side of the one-way wheel 14,within which a winding spring 146 is installed. A driving wheel 145 ispositioned on a right side of the one-way wheel 14. An inner end of thewinding spring 146 is joined to a left end of the axle 141 while anouter end of the winding spring 146 is joined to a side wall of thecircular indentation 144. A positioning arm 16 and a locking arm 15 arepin-joined to a middle section of the main body 10 by a rod 18. A smallspring 153 is positioned between the locking arm 15 and the handle 20. Avertical section 151 of the locking arm 15 is positioned tangentiallyabove the ratchets 142 of the one-way wheel 14. A lateral section 152sticks through the upper hollow space of the main body 10. Thepositioning arm 16 also has a lower vertical section 161 with anengaging piece 164 for interaction with a coil spring supporting thecontrol rod 12. The lower vertical section 161 is positioned above andwithin the rotational range of the driving wheel 145. The positioningarm 16 further has an upper vertical section 162 running through thecenter of the main body 10. A small spring 163 supports the uppervertical section 162 from below. A top end of the upper vertical section162 and a front end of the lateral section 152 are joined together. Inaddition, a small pulley 17 pivots around a positioning axle 19 runningperpendicularly through the main body 10 is positioned above the wiregroove 143 of the one-way wheel 14.

FIG. 6 is a sectional diagram showing the control structure after theumbrella is closed. As illustrated, a sliding tube 40 is locked by theblock 112 of the control ring 11 and is thereby positioned. In the meantime, the control rod 12 is pushed downward and slanted by a second tube32 of a shaft 30. A bullet head 50 linked to the sliding tube 40 by anupper string 80 is locked in a hole on a first tube 31 of the shaft 30.The lower string 81, on the other hand, is connected to a bottom end ofthe bullet head 50 and then runs through the wire groove 143 of theone-way wheel 14 through the small pulley 17. At the moment, the windingspring 146 inside the one-way wheel 14 is at a completely relaxed state.The top end of the upper vertical section 162 and the front end of thelateral section 152 are joined together. The vertical section 151 of thelocking arm 15 is positioned tangentially above the ratchets 142, andthe lower vertical section 161 is positioned above and within therotational range of the driving wheel 145 of the one-way wheel 14.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the push button 13 is pressed to open theumbrella, the control ring 11 is pushed inward so that the block 112releases the sliding tube 40. By the driving of an opening spring 60inside the shaft 30, the umbrella is opened. The control rod 12 returnsto the lateral state and presses against the bullet head 50. The one-waywheel 14, the locking arm 15, and the positioning arm 16 all have noaction.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the push button 13 is pressed again to closethe umbrella, the control rod 12 pushes the bullet head 50 so that thebullet head 50 escapes the locking by the first tube 31 of the shaft 30.Then, under the driving of the closing springs of the umbrella's ribs70, the ribs 70, together with the attached fabric, are collapsed andthe bullet head 50 is pulled upward by the upper string 80. Then,through the lower string 81, the one-way wheel 14 is turned clockwiseand the winding spring 146 is twisted tight. The driving wheel 145 ofthe one-way wheel 14 is thereby turned clockwise as well. The engagingpiece 164 of the lower vertical section 161 of the positioning arm 16 isflipped without causing the positioning arm 16 to spin.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the last move of closing an umbrella is tocompress the shaft 30. When the shaft 30 is compressed by externalforce, the bullet head 50 and the upper and lower strings 80 and 81 arerelaxed. The one-way wheel 14, under the driving of the winding spring146, rotates counterclockwise. The driving wheel 145 of the one-waywheel 14 is turned counterclockwise as well and locks the engaging piece164. The lower vertical section 161 of the positioning arm 16 is twistedtowards a left side and the upper vertical section 162 of thepositioning arm 16 is twisted towards a right side and thereby escapesthe locking of the vertical section 151 of the locking arm 15. Under thepush from the small spring 153, the vertical section 151 of the lockingarm 15 moves towards and presses against the ratchets 142 of the one-waywheel 14. As such, if the umbrella is accidentally released during itsclosing operation, the one-way wheel 14 is locked by the locking arm 15and the bullet head 50 linked to the one-way wheel 14 is thereforelocked as well. The compressed shaft 30 is then immediately positionedwithout being affected by the opening spring 60. If the umbrella isclosed successfully as shown in FIG. 6, the control rod 12 is pusheddownward and slanted by the second tube 32 of the shaft 30. The bullethead 50 is locked in a hole on the first tube 31 of the shaft 30. Thelower string 81 connected to the bottom end of the bullet head 50 ispulled downward by the winding spring 146 and winds around the wiregroove 143 of the one-way wheel 14 through the small pulley 17. Thelateral section 152 of the locking arm 15, pushed by the sliding tube40's bottom rim, is locked with the upper vertical section 162 of thepositioning arm 16 again.

As shown in FIGS. 11 to 12, a control structure for an automaticallyopened and closed umbrella according another embodiment of the presentinvention is installed in a handle 20 of the umbrella and mainlycontains a main body 10 whose upper and lower halves are hollow. Acontrol ring 11 having a control rod 12 is installed in the upper hollowspace. The control rod 12 is configured to a side and below the controlring 11. A push button 13 is configured to the same side of the controlring 11. On the other hand, a block 112 is configured inside the controlring 11 at the side opposite to the control rod 12. A small spring 111outside the control ring 11 adjacent to the block 112 pushes the controlring 11 towards the push button 13. In the lower hollow space of themain body 10, a one-way wheel 14 is installed and pivots around an axle141 running perpendicular to the handle 20. Ratchets 142 are provided ona left half of a circumferential surface of the one-way wheel 14. On aright half of the circumferential surface, a wire groove 143 is providedto receive a second string 81 whose one end is fixedly connected to anupper nest 90. A circular indentation 144 is provided on a left side ofthe one-way wheel 14, within which a winding spring 146 is installed. Adriving wheel 145 is positioned on a right side of the one-way wheel 14.An inner end of the winding spring 146 is joined to a left end of theaxle 141 while an outer end of the winding spring 146 is joined to aside wall of the circular indentation 144. A positioning arm 16 and alocking arm 15 are pin-joined to a middle section outside the handle 20by a rod 18. A small spring 153 is positioned between the locking arm 15and the handle 20. A vertical section 151 of the locking arm 15 ispositioned tangentially above the ratchets 142 of the one-way wheel 14.A lateral section 152 sticks through the upper hollow space of the mainbody 10. The positioning arm 16 also has a lower vertical section 161with an engaging piece 164 for interaction with a coil spring supportingthe control rod 12. The lower vertical section 161 is positioned aboveand within the rotational range of the driving wheel 145. Thepositioning arm 16 further has an upper vertical section 162 runningthrough the center of the main body 10. A small spring 163 supports theupper vertical section 162 from below. A top end of the upper verticalsection 162 and a front end of the lateral section 152 are joinedtogether. In addition, a small pulley 17 pivots around a positioningaxle 19 running perpendicularly through the main body 10 is positionedabove the wire groove 143 of the one-way wheel 14. The small pulley 17is to support and guide the second string 82.

While certain novel features of this invention have been shown anddescribed and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intendedto be limited to the details above, since it will be understood thatvarious omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the formsand details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be madeby those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spiritof the present invention.

I claim:
 1. A control structure for an automatically opened and closedumbrella, said control structure being installed in a handle of saidumbrella and comprising: a main body whose upper and lower halves arehollow; a control ring installed in said upper hollow space, saidcontrol ring having a control rod configured to a side and below saidcontrol ring; a one-way wheel installed inside said lower half thatpivots around an axle running perpendicular to said main body, saidone-way wheel having ratchets on a left half and a wire groove on aright half of a circumferential surface, and a circular indentation on aleft side and a driving wheel positioned on a right side of said one-waywheel, a winding spring installed in said circular indentation; and apositioning arm and a locking arm pin-joined to a middle section of saidmain body, a vertical section of said locking arm positionedtangentially above said ratchets, a lateral section sticking throughsaid hollow upper half, a lower vertical section of said positioning armhaving an engaging piece positioned above and within the rotationalrange of said driving wheel, an upper vertical section of saidpositioning arm running through a center of said main body, and a topend of said upper vertical section and a front end of said lateralsection are joined together.
 2. The control structure according to claim1, wherein a small pulley pivots around a positioning axle runningperpendicularly through said main body is positioned above said wiregroove of said one-way wheel so that a lower string from a bottom end ofa bullet head in a shaft of said umbrella runs around said small pulleyand into said wire groove of said one-way wheel.
 3. A control structurefor an automatically opened and closed umbrella, said control structurebeing installed in a handle of said umbrella and comprising: a main bodywhose upper and lower halves are hollow; a control ring installed insaid upper hollow space, said control ring having a control rodconfigured to a side and below said control ring; a one-way wheelinstalled inside said lower half that pivots around an axle runningperpendicular to said main body, said one-way wheel having ratchets on aleft half and a wire groove on a right half of a circumferentialsurface, and a circular indentation on a left side and a driving wheelpositioned on a right side of said one-way wheel, a winding springinstalled in said circular indentation, a second string whose one end isconnected to an upper nest of said umbrella winding around said wiregroove; and a positioning arm and a locking arm pin-joined to a middlesection of said main body, a vertical section of said locking armpositioned tangentially above said ratchets, a lateral section stickingthrough said hollow upper half, a lower vertical section of saidpositioning arm having an engaging piece positioned above and within therotational range of said driving wheel, an upper vertical section ofsaid positioning arm running through a center of said main body, and atop end of said upper vertical section and a front end of said lateralsection are joined together.